Scent of Magic (9 page)

Starley walked down the hall toward Rue's locker. Students stopped to stare at the new Starley Duchesne, and she had to admit, she liked all the attention.

"Holy hell," Rue said. "You look hot."

Starley blushed and turned in a circle. "You think so?"

"Nope," Rue said. "I know so."

"Thanks," Starley said with a laugh.

"So, has Beau seen you yet?" Rue asked.

Starley shook her head. "No. I just got here and came straight to find you."

"What? Why? Girlfriend, if I were you, I would have strutted up and down these halls," Rue said. She put her hand on her hip and jutted it to the side before flipping her hair over her shoulder dramatically. "You need to walk the walk and talk the talk."

Starley put her hand over Rue's mouth. "Stop! People are starting to stare."

Rue pried Starley's fingers from her face and giggled. "I'm sorry, but you do look really hot. If Beau Byrd doesn't ask you to homecoming now, then that boy has a serious problem."

"Come on, let's get to class before we're late," Starley said.

Starley began to worry that Beau wasn't at school. She hadn't seen him all day, and she'd picked her best new outfit to wear. She had spent extra time on her hair, getting it styled the way Kosmo had shown her. Juliette had helped her with her makeup, teaching her how to apply shadow and liner, so her new deeper blue, contact enhanced eyes popped.

And Beau wasn't there to see her transformation.

Starley stood in the lunchroom line lost in thought when Rue bumped shoulders with her. Starley followed Rue's gaze and came face to face with Beau. She felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment.

"Starley?" Beau asked incredulously. "I almost didn't recognize you. I was about to ask Rue who her hot new friend was."

"Hi, Beau," Rue said. She nudged Starley forward. "Starley say hello to Beau."

At that moment, Starley wished she could sink into the floor and disappear. "Hey, Beau, I didn't think you were here today."

"Were you looking for me?" Beau asked.

"No, yeah, maybe," Starley stammered.

"So, why were you looking for me?" Beau asked.

"I wasn't really. I just hadn't seen you around, that's all," Starley said.

"Oh, I thought maybe you were going to ask me to the homecoming dance, or something," Beau said with a cocky smirk.

"Conceited much?" She took a sandwich and a bottle of water from the cooler and put them on her tray. Beau fell in line behind her, and she felt his eyes on the back of her head.

"You mean you don't want to go to the homecoming dance with me?" he teased.

"I didn't say I didn't want to go with you. It's just that if you're waiting for me to ask you, that's probably not going to happen. I'm a traditional kind of girl," Starley said. She picked up her tray and walked away from him.

She hoped she looked more self-assured than she felt … because she felt like her insides were about to explode like a piñata. She slid onto the bench across from Rue and sat on her hands to keep them from shaking.

Rue leaned close and asked, "So? Did he ask you yet?"

Starley shook her head. "No! Now stop, will you?"

Beau never sat at the same table as Starley, so when he slid his tray onto the table beside hers, her stomach did a triple somersault. When he rested his hand on her arm, she got lightheaded.

"Starley, all joking aside," Beau said seriously. "Would you do me the honor of going to the homecoming dance with me?"

"I don't know, Beau. I'll have to check my social calendar," Starley bluffed. She avoided looking at him for a few seconds. Finally, she allowed her eyes to drift in his direction. "Oh, hey, turns out I'm free that night. I'd love to go to homecoming with you."

He gave her arm a little squeeze. "Great," Beau said. He took a deep breath and blew it out.

Rue cleared her throat, bringing Starley and Beau back to the present. "As much as I'd love to sit here and watch you two make eyes at each other all lunch hour, I have some very important things to discuss with Starley."

Starley's eyebrows pinched together. "Rue, rude much?"

"That's okay, I have to go study for a test this afternoon," Beau said. He stood and smiled at Starley. "I'll catch you later."

All Starley could manage was to nod. Her tongue was glued to the roof of her mouth. As soon as Beau was out of view, she took a big gulp of water. She turned to Rue and grinned ear to ear.

"I can't believe he finally asked me," Starley said.

"I can't believe it took him so long to ask you," Rue said. "Now you won't have to return that dress you bought."

Starley's mouth dropped open. "How did you know that?"

Rue giggled. "Ha! I didn't, but now I do. I just guessed that when you went shopping, you might have gotten a dress."

"I didn't want her to buy it, but she insisted," Starley said. She took a nibble of her sandwich.

"So, what's it like?" Rue asked. "I can't believe you haven't told me about it already."

Starley took a deep breath. "I honestly didn't think Beau would ask me to homecoming. I figured Juliette and I would just have to return the dress, and there wasn't any point in me mentioning a dress I didn't have."

"I'm coming over to your house right after school, and you're going to show me the dress," Rue said with a grin. "Honestly, I think I'm more excited about this than you are."

"I'm still in shock," Starley said. She stuffed the rest of her lunch into her mouth and stood to dump her trash.

"I seriously was beginning to wonder if you were going to have to ask him," Rue said shaking her head. "Honest to God, that boy is cute and all, but sometimes he can be so clueless."

Starley laughed. "I can't wait to tell Francesca and Juliette. They'll be so stoked."

Juliette sat on a stool in the back room at The Perfumery and pored over the spell book. She ran her finger down the yellowed pages.

"What are you looking for?" Francesca asked.

"I have no idea, but I'll know it when I find it," Juliette said.

Francesca heard the bell over the door ring and turned to see who it was. She smiled when she saw Rue and Starley come into the shop.

"Hello, you two," Francesca greeted them. "How was school today? Anything exciting happen?"

"Oh, nothing much. Beau Byrd asked Starley to homecoming. She said yes. You know the usual," Rue said with a shrug. She took an ornate bottle from the shelf and smelled it. She wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, this smells like dog crap."

Juliette came out of the back room. "Did I hear you right? He finally asked you to homecoming?"

Starley floated around the room like a butterfly. "Yes. My first dance." She stopped abruptly, and panic crossed her face. "I can't dance. What was I thinking? He'll dance with me, and I'll probably cripple him for life by stepping all over his feet."

Francesca snickered. "In that case, you better let me show you how to dance. Juliette has two left feet."

"Thanks a lot," Juliette murmured. "I'm going to back to my spell book now. I don't need this kind of abuse."

"You know I'm just giving you a hard time, Juliette," Francesca said. She grabbed Starley by the hand and twirled her around.

Francesca started showing Starley some basic dance moves and Rue peeked over Juliette's shoulder at the spell book.

"What are you reading?" Rue asked.

"It's a very old and powerful spell book that's been in the Duchesne family for hundreds of years," Juliette said, barely looking up from what she was reading.

"Powerful? Sounds serious," Rue said.

Rue was extremely interested in whatever had been written in that book. But every time she got close enough to have a look over Juliette's shoulder, she closed the book.

"I mean it, Rue, this stuff is not something to play with," Juliette said. "For you or Starley."

"We had a new customer today," said Francesca. "I don't think she knew that I knew who she was."

Juliette narrowed her eyes. "Oh, yeah? Who?"

"Sandy Davidson stopped by, and I gave her the crystal vial of pheromone-infused perfume. You know the one, Juliette?" Francesca asked.

"Yes, I know exactly which one. That's like the most powerful attractant we had. And anyway, who the heck is Sandy Davidson?" Juliette snapped the spell book shut and gave Rue a warning glare.

"Sandy Davidson is Pastor Byrd's private secretary," Rue piped up. "And why would she need an attractant or whatever you called it? She's been with Carl forever."

"I never know why someone needs what they need, I just follow my nose," Francesca said. "I honestly think Pastor Byrd sent her in here to spy on us. Well, the jokes on him, because it worked in our favor this time. Sandy will be a good person to have on our side."

"What are we choosing sides against," Starley asked. "I should probably know these things if I'm going to homecoming with the enemy's son."

"Don't worry, Starley," Francesca said quietly. "There's nothing to be concerned about."

"Maybe Starley should try a little magic on Beau," Rue suggested.

"Why would I need to do that? He already asked me to the dance," Starley pointed out.

"Yeah, but, if he really,
really
likes you, he might be able to sway his dad into backing off," Rue said.

"I'm not afraid of Pastor Byrd. He's got his hands full with his wife, right now," Francesca said. "He can't prove anything. He's only assuming he knows what's going on."

"What if Sandy starts singing like a canary?" Juliette asked.

"She's not going to. She's going to have her hands full with Carl. And as long as Sandy's happy, she's not going to believe a word Pastor Byrd has to say. At least nothing negative about The Perfumery," Francesca said.

When Juliette and Francesca went to the front of the shop to lock up, Rue grabbed Starley by the arm. "Come here," she whispered.

"What?" Starley said.

Rue dragged her over to the spell book. "You need to get your hands on this book."

"The spell book? Why?"

Rue sighed and stared up at the ceiling. "I swear for such a bright girl, you can be kind of dense sometimes.
Why
? I'll tell you why. Just think of all the stuff we could do with a century's old spell book."

"I don't think we should mess with it. I don't know about you, but I'm not interested in incurring the wrath of karma," Starley said. "Come on, let's go."

Rue didn't say anything, but she had a gut feeling that Starley might change her mind, soon. Until then, she'd just have to be patient.

"Okay, fine," Rue said with a heavy sigh. She shook her head. "All that potential greatness is just staring us in the face and you're going to let it slip through our fingers. That thing could very well be
the
book of love."

"Did anybody ever tell you you're a drama queen?" Starley asked.

Starley felt like she'd been walking on clouds all week. It was really good to be in a town where she belonged. Opening up and letting herself have a best friend, and even a maybe boyfriend. It was all so surreal. If anything happened to screw it all up, she'd be devastated. She'd had her doubts about Prosperity when they first arrived, but not anymore.

"Hey, have you seen Beau? Starley asked Rue. She'd been waiting at their usual spot for about ten minutes.

Rue pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. "He's back there," she said, pointing over her shoulder. "Talking to Beatrice."

Starley remembered the potion she'd given Beatrice. The one that had made her irresistible. She felt heat course through her veins, and the pulse pounded in her ears. "What's he doing talking to her?"

"I have no idea," Rue said. "Come on, green is so not your color. Let's just go."

Starley took another look over her shoulder and thought she might be sick when she saw Beau and Beatrice laughing together. "Yeah, okay."

"I'm sure it isn't anything to worry about. You're the one he's taking to the dance," Rue reminded her.

"Yeah, that's true," Starley said. As much as she would have liked to believe that seeing Beau with Beatrice didn't bother her, it would have been a lie. It bothered her. It bothered her a lot. She turned to leave with Rue.

Halfway home, Rue peered sideways at Starley. "We could always fix this, you know."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Starley reached up and wiggled her nose with her fingers. "Magic?"

"Yeah, maybe," Rue said. "If the spell worked on Beatrice, it could work on you even better. And what about that phero-whatever it was? Like the perfume Francesca sold to Sandy?"

"Francesca would never agree to make a potion for me," Starley said quietly.

"That's why you don't ask her to make one," Rue said.

"You're crazy, my sisters would freaking kill me if I messed with magic," Starley said.

"Then we'll have to make sure you don't get caught," Rue said with a giggle. "You need to loosen up a little and start living like a normal teenager. Haven't you ever done anything
fun
?"

Starley thought for a minute before shaking her head. "No, not really. I mean, yes, we have fun doing things together, but we do them as a family. I've never done anything behind their back. Nothing I'd consider fun-fun."

"Starley, Starley, Starley," Rue said shaking her head back and forth. "Don't you think it's time you lived a little dangerously for a change?"

"Maybe you're right," Starley said.

"So, how do we get the book without getting caught?" Rue asked.

"Tonight, after Francesca and Juliette go to sleep, I'll grab Frank's keys and sneak down to The Perfumery," Starley said. She had goose bumps running up and down her arms. "Can you meet me there about midnight?"

"That would be a definite yes," Rue said. "My parents sleep like the dead. They wouldn't wake up if an atomic bomb dropped on the house."

Starley raised her hand and gave Rue a high five. "See you then."

***

Starley slipped easily from the house at a few minutes before midnight. She jogged all the way to The Perfumery. Unlocking the front door, she went inside to wait for Rue. The clock on the wall put out the only light in the room; it was five after midnight.

Starley drummed her fingers on the glass display case. "Come on, come on," she muttered. A few seconds later, Rue tapped on the glass, and Starley let her inside.

"Did you look at the spell book yet?" Rue asked.

"No, I was waiting for you to get here," Starley replied. "Come on, let's do this."

"What if we find some really amazing spell and don't have the right stuff to make it?" Rue said.

"There are like a million different herbs, oils, and you name it, it's here," Starley said. She started to flip through the magic book.

"What are we looking for, anyway?" Rue asked.

"Like my sisters always say, we'll know it when we find it," Starley said quietly.

"We could always use that same stuff that you gave Beatrice," Rue suggested.

Starley shook her head. "No, that won't work. It needs to be something better. Something new and improved. Only I can't decide if it should be for me, or if I should make it for Beau."

The girls scanned the book for several minutes before Starley pulled out a loose leaf of paper and began to grin. "This is it. This is the one," she said.

Rue read over her shoulder. "A cookie recipe?"

"Yes, but not an ordinary butter and eggs cookie recipe," Starley said. "They say that a way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

"Can you even cook?" Rue asked.

"Of course, I can cook," Starley said. "I mean, how hard can it be, right?"

"What ingredients do we need?" Rue asked, looking around at the containers lining the shelves.

Starley ran her finger down the page and bounced on the balls of her feet with excitement. She started to recite the ingredients out loud.

"How do we know what's what?" Rue asked, pulling boxes and jars from the shelves to read the labels.

"Everything's in alphabetical order," Starley said. She went to the copy machine and photocopied the recipe. She handed one to Rue. "Here, let's both look, it will go faster."

They gathered the magical items needed. Since the recipe was for chocolate chip cookies, the non-magical items were readably available elsewhere.

"I think we've got everything," Starley said. She took a plastic bag from beneath the cash register and stuffed in all of the supplies they'd gathered.

"What are you going to do if one of your sisters realizes some of the ingredients are missing?" Rue asked.

"We'll have to hurry and bake cookies tomorrow after school, and then return everything right away," Starley said, holding out her hand. "Give me your copy of the recipe. The less evidence there is, the better. I'm going to have a hard enough time explaining why I've suddenly taken an interest in baking."

"Tell them it's Beau's birthday and you want to bake him some cookies," Rue suggested.

Starley laughed. "Isn't it traditionally supposed to be a birthday
cake
?"

"Cookies, cake, brownies. Who cares? It's the thought that counts," Rue said. "Now come on Betty Crocker, let's get out of here. I still have some time to get some beauty sleep."

"Help me make sure nothing looks out of place," Starley said.

"Make sure you put the book of love back where it was," Rue said.

"Book of love?" Starley giggled and closed the book. "What, are we in the fifties now?"

Rue laughed and rearranged some of the shelved ingredients to make up for the empty holes.

Afterward, Starley turned in a circle in the middle of the room to make sure they'd covered their tracks. Once they were both satisfied everything had been put back the way it was, they slipped from The Perfumery.